Lobaton walk off HR in 9th lifts Rays over Red Sox

Tampa Bay Rays' Jose Lobaton (59) is surrounded by teammates as he heads to home plate after hitting a walk off home run in the ninth inning against the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of Monday's American League baseball division series in St. Petersburg. Tampa Bay Rays won 5-4.

Published: Monday, October 7, 2013 at 9:22 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, October 7, 2013 at 9:22 p.m.

ST. PETERSBURG - With one swing of the bat on his 28th birthday, Evan Longoria got the Rays back in the game.

With his only swing of the night, Jose Lobaton extended the season for Tampa Bay.

The team that never says die lives for another day.

After Longoria belted a three-run homer in the fifth to tie it, Lobaton unloaded a home run into the Rays tank in right-center field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to propel the Rays a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Monday night in front of a sellout crowd of 33,675 at Tropicana Field.

The Red Sox still own a 2-1 lead in the best-of-5 series heading into Game 4 at 8:37 p.m. tonight at Tropicana Field.

After not getting all the breaks and failing to make all the plays, things finally turned the Rays way.

They scratched out a run in the eighth inning before Lobaton’s blast in the ninth off Boston normally unhittable closer Koji Uehara.

Entering the game in the cleanup position in the top of the ninth inning after Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon forfeited the designated hitter spot earlier in the game, Lobaton looked at the first pitch from Uehara.

“The first pitch he threw me was a split, and I said, ‘That’s a pretty good split,' ” Lobaton said on being in a 0-1 hole. “I knew I had to stay a little bit more back. He threw me the next pitch and I hit the ball hard. I said, “Wow, I think I got it.' ”

He got it all right, sending the baseball 419 feet into the Rays’ tank, setting off another wild celebration.

“Lobaton struck it well,” Boston manager John Farrell said. “Koji has been so consistent, so dominant for us on an 0-1 split, obviously Lobaton is looking for the pitch and squared it up well.”

“It was so nice to see it happen to Lobaton,” Tampa Bay starting pitcher Alex Cobb said after working the first five innings, allowing three runs, two earned on his 26th birthday. “It would have been nice to happen to anybody on this team, but it’s something special when he does it. That’s for sure.”

Wil Myers, who departed the game with cramps in both legs, was not in the dugout for Lobaton’s heroics. Myers was on the couch in the clubhouse watching on televisions that were behind the action.

He heard screams, but never envisioned what just occurred.

“The guy on the mound for them has been so good,” Myers said. “To think something like that could happen is crazy. Sure enough, he came through for us.”

It was the fourth time Tampa Bay staved off elimination in the past nine days in four different cities: Toronto, Arlington, Texas, Cleveland and now at home.

“We’re writing a story right now,” said Rays first baseman James Loney, who was 3-for-3 with a walk before being removed for a pinch-runner. “We’re going to keep writing it tomorrow.”

The story could not be written without Longoria’s contribution.

Down 3-0 entering the bottom of the fifth, the Rays had two on with two outs when the birthday boy stepped to the plate.

Against Boston starter Clay Buchholz, who had not allowed a run to the Rays the entire season, the 28-year-old Longoria deposited a three-run homer over the left field wall to tie the game.

“Of course it did,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said when asked if Longoria’s homer changed the game. “Buchholz is pitching his typical game here. We cannot do anything with him. We get some guys on base, he would make a pitch, and then finally Longo got it, finally Longo got him. And then it ties it up right there and all of a sudden it’s a different world.”

“We got a little bit down,” Lobaton said of the 3-0 deficit in the elimination game. “It was now we have to score three more runs. After we saw the ball out, the energy came back. Everybody was like, ‘we’ve got a chance now. We’ve got a chance.’ It’s a different game 3-0 than 3-3.”

The Rays pushed across a run in the bottom of the eighth to take a 4-3 lead on a RBI groundout by pinch-hitter Delmon Young.

Tampa Bay closer Fernando Rodney then gave up the tying run in the top of the ninth.

With one out and Dustin Pedroia up and David Ortiz out of the game, Maddon elected to pitch to Pedroia with the infield back. Pedroia hit a one-hopper to shortstop Yunel Escobar that produced the tie-breaking run.

Ben Zobrist grounded out, and Longoria struck out in the bottom of the ninth before Lobaton delivered.

“When we are under this situation we are extremely comfortable with it and never going to collapse,” Cobb said. “That’s the main thing. Nobody wants to go home. Everybody keeps doing their job and passing it onto the next person. We’re going to be a tough team to beat.”

NOTES:

Rays rookie RF Wil Myers left before the eighth inning because of cramping in both legs. Myers took an awkward swing on a foul ball in the seventh and grabbed the area around his left calf. He limped back to the dugout after striking out for the third out. Myers went to right field after the inning, then headed back to the infield and was met by a team trainer. The club said Myers received IV fluids. DH Matt Joyce replaced Myers in right field.

<p><em>ST. PETERSBURG</em> - With one swing of the bat on his 28th birthday, Evan Longoria got the Rays back in the game.</p><p>With his only swing of the night, Jose Lobaton extended the season for Tampa Bay.</p><p>The team that never says die lives for another day.</p><p>After Longoria belted a three-run homer in the fifth to tie it, Lobaton unloaded a home run into the Rays tank in right-center field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to propel the Rays a 5-4 victory over the Boston Red Sox in Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Monday night in front of a sellout crowd of 33,675 at Tropicana Field.</p><p>The Red Sox still own a 2-1 lead in the best-of-5 series heading into Game 4 at 8:37 p.m. tonight at Tropicana Field.</p><p>After not getting all the breaks and failing to make all the plays, things finally turned the Rays way.</p><p>They scratched out a run in the eighth inning before Lobaton's blast in the ninth off Boston normally unhittable closer Koji Uehara.</p><p>Entering the game in the cleanup position in the top of the ninth inning after Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon forfeited the designated hitter spot earlier in the game, Lobaton looked at the first pitch from Uehara.</p><p>“The first pitch he threw me was a split, and I said, 'That's a pretty good split,' ” Lobaton said on being in a 0-1 hole. “I knew I had to stay a little bit more back. He threw me the next pitch and I hit the ball hard. I said, “Wow, I think I got it.' ”</p><p>He got it all right, sending the baseball 419 feet into the Rays' tank, setting off another wild celebration.</p><p>“Lobaton struck it well,” Boston manager John Farrell said. “Koji has been so consistent, so dominant for us on an 0-1 split, obviously Lobaton is looking for the pitch and squared it up well.”</p><p>“It was so nice to see it happen to Lobaton,” Tampa Bay starting pitcher Alex Cobb said after working the first five innings, allowing three runs, two earned on his 26th birthday. “It would have been nice to happen to anybody on this team, but it's something special when he does it. That's for sure.”</p><p>Wil Myers, who departed the game with cramps in both legs, was not in the dugout for Lobaton's heroics. Myers was on the couch in the clubhouse watching on televisions that were behind the action.</p><p>He heard screams, but never envisioned what just occurred.</p><p>“The guy on the mound for them has been so good,” Myers said. “To think something like that could happen is crazy. Sure enough, he came through for us.”</p><p>It was the fourth time Tampa Bay staved off elimination in the past nine days in four different cities: Toronto, Arlington, Texas, Cleveland and now at home.</p><p>“We're writing a story right now,” said Rays first baseman James Loney, who was 3-for-3 with a walk before being removed for a pinch-runner. “We're going to keep writing it tomorrow.”</p><p>The story could not be written without Longoria's contribution.</p><p>Down 3-0 entering the bottom of the fifth, the Rays had two on with two outs when the birthday boy stepped to the plate.</p><p>Against Boston starter Clay Buchholz, who had not allowed a run to the Rays the entire season, the 28-year-old Longoria deposited a three-run homer over the left field wall to tie the game.</p><p>“Of course it did,” Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon said when asked if Longoria's homer changed the game. “Buchholz is pitching his typical game here. We cannot do anything with him. We get some guys on base, he would make a pitch, and then finally Longo got it, finally Longo got him. And then it ties it up right there and all of a sudden it's a different world.”</p><p>“We got a little bit down,” Lobaton said of the 3-0 deficit in the elimination game. “It was now we have to score three more runs. After we saw the ball out, the energy came back. Everybody was like, 'we've got a chance now. We've got a chance.' It's a different game 3-0 than 3-3.”</p><p>The Rays pushed across a run in the bottom of the eighth to take a 4-3 lead on a RBI groundout by pinch-hitter Delmon Young.</p><p>Tampa Bay closer Fernando Rodney then gave up the tying run in the top of the ninth.</p><p>With one out and Dustin Pedroia up and David Ortiz out of the game, Maddon elected to pitch to Pedroia with the infield back. Pedroia hit a one-hopper to shortstop Yunel Escobar that produced the tie-breaking run.</p><p>Ben Zobrist grounded out, and Longoria struck out in the bottom of the ninth before Lobaton delivered.</p><p>“It's good to win like this today,” Myers said. “I think we've got momentum going into tomorrow.”</p><p>“When we are under this situation we are extremely comfortable with it and never going to collapse,” Cobb said. “That's the main thing. Nobody wants to go home. Everybody keeps doing their job and passing it onto the next person. We're going to be a tough team to beat.”</p><h3>NOTES:</h3>
<p>Rays rookie RF Wil Myers left before the eighth inning because of cramping in both legs. Myers took an awkward swing on a foul ball in the seventh and grabbed the area around his left calf. He limped back to the dugout after striking out for the third out. Myers went to right field after the inning, then headed back to the infield and was met by a team trainer. The club said Myers received IV fluids. DH Matt Joyce replaced Myers in right field.</p>